Know your enemy, it is said. The passions and those who help them take root are the seed of the devil. The fight against this seed lasts one’s whole life, and only he who turns to God will emerge victorious.
But where are we to learn the tactics for this fight? Drawing on the experience of the Church and the works of the Holy Fathers, Priest Daniel Sysoev explains how sin works in a persons soul, and how to combat it.
This book will provide the reader with food for thought regarding the need for concentrated effort to cleanse one’s heart for God.
Table of Contents
MAN’S SOUL
The Concept of the Soul
The Energies of the Soul
The Particular Nature of the Soul and Its Three Forms of Existence
The Intellectual Faculty of the Soul
The Predominant Disease of the Human Soul
Diseases Caused by Reason’s Subjection to the Will and Desires
Healing the Soul
THE PASSIONS AND THEIR COUNTER VIRTUES
Anger
Quieting Anger
On Freedom From Anger
On Meekness
The Two Forms of Anger
Righteous Anger
On Irritability and Humility
Outer Meekness and Inner Resentment
Temptations When Struggling Against Anger and Resentment
The Causes of Anger
ON GLUTTONY
How Gluttony is Linked to the Other Passions
The Consequences of Gluttony
The Three Types of People
The Wiles of the Devil
One Passion’s Victory Over Another
Strictness of Life and the Gifts of the Spirit
The Struggle Against Gluttony
ON AVARICE
The Passion of Avarice
The Conditions Under Which the Passion of Avarice Surfaces
The Effects of Avarice
Avarice Quickly Draws One Away From God
The Meaning of Almsgiving
Acquiring Non-possessiveness
The Attributes of Non-possessiveness
Detachment
The Sin of Envy
ON ENVY
What Produces Envy?
How Is One to Avoid Envy?
The Effects of Envy and the Disposition of One Who Is Envious
One Must Not Associate With Those
Who Are Envious
Many Heresies Are Caused by Envy
The Evil Eye Results From Envy
The Envious Can Be Known by Their Appearance
How Does One Struggle Against Envy?
Envy’s Last Snare
A Test for Envy
ON DESPONDENCY
The Holy Scriptures on Despondency
The Two Types of Despondency
Despondency Breeds Other Sins
What Increases Despondency?
The Attributes of Despondency
What Produces Despondency?
The Remedy for Despondency
